[NatureNS] Leave those old snags up!

From: Paul Ruggles <cpruggles@eastlink.ca>
Date: Thu, 05 Dec 2013 08:30:40 -0400
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Hi Yt, DW

The need to address global warming transcends our usual ideas about =
environmental protection. To paraphrase Charles Dickens:=20
 It's not about the environment.=20
It's all about the environment.
What it's not about is individual acts of good conscience.

The problem is our addiction to the abundant and cheap energy derived =
from the burning of fossil fuels.  When 250 million years' worth of =
stored carbon is released into the atmosphere during just 150 years, =
there are consequences. The climate heats up. If we don't do something =
about it, a radical change to many of the vital ecosystems that sustain =
our civilization is inevitable.=20

The fundamental reason for the failure to act on global warming is the =
ruthless exercise of political power by the fossil-fuel lobby. We have =
to create a political base to counteract the immense power of the fossil =
fuel lobby. It's  not enough to cut back on personal energy use. It may =
make one feel good, but it won't solve the problem.

Paul.

On 2013-12-04, at 9:10 PM, David & Alison Webster wrote:

> Hi Mary,                                Dec 4, 2013
>     Shooting from the hip doesn't solve difficult problems which in =
large measure have been generated by simplistic thinking. Or by an =
absence of thought.
> =20
>     If you cut selectively you give the remaining trees an opportunity =
to fix carbon more efficiently. If you leave them to die and rot then =
all of the carbon of those dead trees will eventually be released as =
gaseous CO2. The carbon will of course cycle through myxomycetes, =
beetles, fungi, bacteria ... but it all will eventually become released =
as CO2.
> =20
>     =46rom any wood that you might have burned the eventual carbon =
release by biological action will equal that released from combustion. =
Of course if you don't burn wood completely, which is often the case if =
you don't rake coals, then the carbon released by burning will be =
somewhat less than biological release due to a residue of charcoal which =
is not readily used by organisms and is actually a good way to fix =
carbon permanently.
>   =20
>     Even if the firewood is clearcut, provided no more than 10% of a =
watershed is cut in any decade, you are still ahead of the game in all =
respects.
> =20
>     As for burning little or nothing, try turning off your power and =
heat sources for say the next 6 months; walk to work wearing carbon free =
clothes (e.g. animal hides) and of course eat only raw food obtained =
within walking distance of home. =20
> =20
>     Typically when roads, building lots, commercial outlets (for sale =
of insulation eg.) and power lines are constructed/maintained, the wood =
is just bulldozed to one side, pushed into huge piles and burned or cut =
and piled to rot and worst of all there is no opportunity for regrowth. =
So in those cases not only does all of the wood go up in smoke (by fire =
or decay) but the habitat for future carbon capture is destroyed or =
greatly diminished
> =20
>     Now one does not need to fly over Truro at low altitude to get =
some appreciation of the carbon fixing potential that is obliterated by =
power lines. I expect Google Earth will now be just a good. It is huge.
> =20
>     So don't shoot the messenger.Think about the alternatives and =
especially with some correct biology in play.
> =20
>     Yt, DW
> =20
>   =20
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Mary Macaulay
> To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
> Sent: Wednesday, December 04, 2013 7:40 PM
> Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Leave those old snags up!
>=20
> Burning anything is putting carbon back in the atmosphere. Far better =
to super insulate our homes and burn little to nothing.
>=20
> Mary Macaulay, P.Eng.
>=20
>=20
> On Dec 4, 2013, at 5:59 PM, "David & Alison Webster" =
<dwebster@glinx.com> wrote:
>=20
>> Hi All,                                Dec 4, 2013
>>     I sense some politically correct ideas floating to the surface in =
these recent e-mails so I wish to interject some biologically correct =
ideas.
>> =20
>>     Snags sometimes can be good centers of biodiversity; no question. =
They sometimes can be, after bark is shed, quite barren of activity =
including fungal growth, until they fall and gain earth contact.
>> =20
>>     Pileated, although they sometimes will work a dead snag or a =
fallen rotten birch they mostly feed on ants in live softwood trees =
(Hemlock, Fir, Spruce) and something (probably ants) near the tops of =
Poplar. Usually when I prune branches from Hardwood trees in the yard I =
leave stubs 2-8' long. Downy & Hairy feed on these as they age but I =
have yet to see a Pileated      there. But just a few feet away I =
usually see a Pileated every year or so on the live Crack-Willow =
(arthropods in bark crevices ?) and when the Five-fingered Ivy fruits, =
feeding upside down on these vines which have climbed a Black Cherry. =
Pileated also like Dogwood fruit and I watched one strip a shrub, upside =
down again, while I ate lunch.
>> =20
>>     And one of the best ways to provide growth & feeding =
opportunities in live, dying and dead trees into the future is to burn =
more wood and less petrochemical fuels. Except for the carbon cost of =
cutting and hauling wood, the burning of wood is carbon neutral, in =
spite of short-sighted foolishness to the contrary. On the other hand =
all of the carbon in petrochemicals is new to the atmosphere and by the =
time they arrive in your dooryard  already have a large carbon burden; =
exploration, extraction & transportation.
>> =20
>>     The wood should of course be cut selectively, with an eye to =
giving healthy long-lived trees adequate room and encouraging a wide =
diversity of tree and shrub species. But burning wood cut in any way is =
a step in the right direction.
>> =20
>> Yt DW
>> "To save the forest you must burn trees" DW 2013
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Nancy P Dowd
>> To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
>> Sent: Wednesday, December 04, 2013 5:41 PM
>> Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Leave those old snags up!
>>=20
>> And when all else fails leave as much of the trunk and limbs as =
possible on the forest floor to benefit the birds, plants etc. This is =
what I had them do with my old dying maple that was in the path of the =
excavator at the camp.=20
>>=20
>> Nancy
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>=20
>> On Dec 4, 2013, at 3:44 PM, Rick Ballard <ideaphore@gmail.com> wrote:
>>=20
>>> A better link than the gigantic google url is : =
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/deadwoodwithnotes.pdf
>>>=20
>>>=20
>>> On Wed, Dec 4, 2013 at 3:37 PM, Rick Ballard <ideaphore@gmail.com> =
wrote:
>>>=20
>>> On Wed, Dec 4